An Examination of Current Approaches to Integrative Indigenous and Western Knowledge System Implementation in Water Research and Management: A Case Study Encompassing the Colonized Geographies of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States

The commodification of natural resources and the pursuit of continuous growth has resulted in environmental degradation, depletion, and disparity in access to these life-sustaining resources, including water. Utility-based objectification and exploitation of water in some societies has brought us to the brink of crisis through an apathetic disregard for present and future generations. The ongoing depletion and degradation of the world’s water sources, coupled with a reliance on Western knowledge and the continued omission of Indigenous knowledge to manage our relationship with water has unduly burdened many, but particularly so for Indigenous communities. The goal of my thesis research is to call attention to and advance the value and validity of using both Indigenous and Western knowledge systems (also known as Two-Eyed Seeing) in water research and management to better care for water. To achieve this goal, I used a combined systematic and realist review method to identify and synthesize the peer-reviewed, integrative water literature, followed by semi-structured interviews with first authors of the exemplars from the included literature to identify the challenges and insights that researchers have experienced in conducting integrative water research. Findings suggest that these authors recognize that many previous attempts to integrate Indigenous knowledges have been tokenistic rather than meaningful, and that new methods for knowledge implementation are needed. Community-based participatory research methods, and the associated tenets of balancing power, fostering trust, and community ownership over the research process, emerged as a pathway towards the meaningful implementation of Indigenous and Western knowledge systems. Data also indicate that engagement and collaborative governance structures developed from a position of mutual respect are integral to the realization of a given project. The recommendations generated from these findings offer support for future Indigenous-led research and partnerships through the identification and examination of approaches that facilitate the meaningful implementation of Indigenous and Western knowledge systems in water research and management. Asking Western science questions and seeking Indigenous science solutions does not appear to be working; instead, the co-design of research projects and asking questions directed at the problem rather than the solution better lends itself to the strengths of Indigenous science.

Contested dominance modifies the anovulatory consequences of social subordination in female marmosets

Dominance status among female marmosets is reflected in agonistic behavior and ovarian function. Socially dominant females receive submissive behavior from subordinates, while exhibiting normal ovulatory function. Subordinate females, however, receive agonistic behavior from dominants, while exhibiting reduced or absent ovulatory function. Such disparity in female fertility is not absolute, and groups with two breeding females have been described. The data reported here were obtained from 8 female-female pairs of captive female marmosets, each housed with a single unrelated male. Pairs were classified into two groups: “uncontested” dominance (UD) and “contested” dominance (CD), with 4 pairs each. Dominant females in UD pairs showed significantly higher frequencies (4.1) of agonism (piloerection, attack and chasing) than their subordinates (0.36), and agonistic behaviors were overall more frequently displayed by CD than by UD pairs. Subordinates in CD pairs exhibited more agonistic behavior (2.9) than subordinates in UD pairs (0.36), which displayed significantly more submissive (6.97) behaviors than their dominants (0.35). The data suggest that there is more than one kind of dominance relationship between female common marmosets. Assessment of progesterone levels showed that while subordinates in UD pairs appeared to be anovulatory, the degree of ovulatory disruption in subordinates of CD pairs was more varied and less complete. We suggest that such variation in female-female social dominance relationships and the associated variation in the degree and reliability of fertility suppression may explain variations of the reproductive condition of free-living groups of common marmosets

Local Seafood Availability in San Diego, California Seafood Markets

Like many developed coastal cities, San Diego, California has strong geographic and recreational ties to the adjacent ocean, but weak culinary ones. Less than 10% of the seafood consumed in the U.S., and San Diego in particular, is domestic. The popularity and abundance of farmers’ markets and other local markets in San Diego indicates an interest among producers and the public alike in cultivating local, diverse food systems, but this trend has been slower to catch on for seafood. The goal of this project was, therefore, to define and begin to understand the influences on the patterns of locally sourced, domestic seafood availability in San Diego. This study focused on seafood availability in seafood markets including researching market websites and contacting seafood counter managers to determine the general frequency (consistent, occasional, none) at which the markets sold seafood produced by San Diego fishermen or aquafarmers. Seafood market locations were mapped, and demographic and spatial information was gathered for each market’s zip code. The results of the study revealed that only 8% of San Diego’s 86 seafood markets consistently carried San Diego-sourced seafood, and 14% of markets carried it on occasion. Increased density of these local seafood markets was correlated with proximity to the coast, with almost 80% of the markets located within 2 km of the coast. Neither per capita income nor racial diversity was correlated with local seafood market density, indicating that factors contributing to coastal isolation matter more than wealth or diversity in determining where local seafood is sold. The geographic disparity in local seafood availability may be due to a variety of factors, including a small fishing fleet, prevalence of imported seafood, limited waterfront and urban infrastructure needed to support a local seafood system, and a lack of public awareness about local fisheries. Information gleaned from this study can inform further investigation into the influences on local, equitable seafood systems, as well as help consumers, producers and marketers to make informed decisions about seafood purchases and marketing efforts.

Pratiquer l’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes au sein des organisations : étude de cas des ONG au Mali.

Cette thèse analyse les pratiques d’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes au sein des organisations non gouvernementales (ONG) maliennes qui ont reçu du financement canadien. En effet, l’aide publique au développement a subi des transformations majeures depuis les années 1950. L’une de ces transformations a été le rôle important joué par les ONG dans les années 1990, à la suite de l’adoption des politiques d’ajustements structurels et de la fin de la monopolisation par l’État en ce qui a trait à l’aide publique pour les projets de développement. Entre autres, les ONG ont été sollicitées pour promouvoir les politiques d’égalité entre hommes et femmes. L’importance des ONG dans l’aide publique au développement a créé des relations de dépendances vis-à-vis des bailleurs de fonds qui imposent des conditionnalités. Nos résultats ont montré que les bailleurs de fonds exigent l’égalité entre les sexes en ce qui concerne les bénéficiaires des programmes, mais, paradoxalement, ne l’exigent pas à l’intérieur des ONG et dans leurs ressources humaines. En analysant la composition du personnel de huit ONG maliennes, nos résultats montrent que 34 % du personnel sont des femmes alors que 66 % sont des hommes, ce qui démontre un déséquilibre assez important en matière de parité. Cependant, une analyse plus fine nous indique que les pratiques d’égalité entre femmes et hommes dans les structures et dans la gestion des ressources humaines diffèrent d’une ONG à une autre. Ces pratiques dépendent beaucoup de la volonté et des valeurs des gestionnaires. Notre recherche a fait ressortir plusieurs explications de cette disparité au niveau de l’emploi des femmes. Les raisons souvent mentionnées étaient : 1) la nécessité d’avoir du personnel compétent, 2) la conciliation famille-travail, 3) le contexte socioculturel, 4) l’interprétation de la religion musulmane en matière d’égalité. En effet, nos résultats ont démontré que sous l’influence des bailleurs de fonds les ONG se sont professionnalisées, que l’impact de la professionnalisation a été différent selon le genre et que celle-ci s’est faite aux dépens des femmes. Ainsi, certains gestionnaires, quel que soit leur sexe, préfèrent recruter plus d’hommes parce qu’ils les jugent plus compétents.Nos résultats confirment la théorie du plafond de verre qui met en exergue le fait que les femmes ont de la difficulté à accéder à des postes de responsabilité. Nos résultats ont aussi démontré qu’au Mali, le contexte socioculturel et la religion jouent un grand rôle dans les relations sociales et surtout en ce qui concerne la place des femmes au sein de la société.

The LESCHI Murder Trial as Transcribed from the Official Court Ledger, 2nd Judicial District, Wash. Terr., 1856 - 1858

Prepared March 1, 2001 by Sherburne F. Cook, Jr. The official Court Proceedings of the second and third sentencing are recorded in the official Court Ledger for the 2nd Judicial District; Olympia, Thurston County, W.T., from which the following transcription has been taken. The Ledger picks up the Trial action on March 18, 1857.

Effect of Wealth on Health Care Seeking Behavior And Out of Pocket Health Expenditure in Malawi

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Investigation of the Nucleation and Growth of Colloidal Indium Phosphide: from Molecular Precursors to Semiconductor Nanocrystals through In37P20(O2CR)51 as a Magic-Size Intermediate

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Remolding a company through a compliance program : the case of Siemens

Abstract : Since at least the 1980's, a growing number of companies have set up an ethics or a compliance program within their organization. However, in the field of study of business management, there is a paucity of research studies concerning these management systems. This observation warranted the present investigation of one company's compliance program. Compliance programs are set up so that individuals working within an organization observe the laws and regulations which pertain to their work. This study used a constructivist grounded theory methodology to examine the process by which a specific compliance program, that of Siemens Canada Limited, was implemented throughout its organization. In conformity with this methodology, instead of proceeding with the investigation in accordance to a particular theoretical framework, the study established a number of theoretical constructs used strictly as reference points. The study's research question was stated as: what are the characteristics of the process by which Siemens' compliance program integrated itself into the existing organizational structure and gained employee acceptance? Data consisted of documents produced by the company and of interviews done with twenty-four managers working for Siemens Canada Limited. The researcher used QSR-Nvivo computer assisted software to code transcripts and to help with analyzing interviews and documents. Triangulation was done by using a number of analysis techniques and by constantly comparing findings with extant theory. A descriptive model of the implementation process grounded in the experience of participants and in the contents of the documents emerged from the data. The process was called "Remolding"; remolding being the core category having emerged. This main process consisted of two sub-processes identified as "embedding" and "appraising." The investigation was able to provide a detailed account of the appraising process. It identified that employees appraised the compliance program according to three facets: the impact of the program on the employee's daily activities, the relationship employees have with the local compliance organization, and the relationship employees have with the corporate ethics identity. The study suggests that a company who is entertaining the idea of implementing a compliance program should consider all three facets. In particular, it suggests that any company interested in designing and implementing a compliance program should pay particular attention to its corporate ethics identity. This is because employee's acceptance of the program is influenced by their comparison of the company's ethics identity to their local ethics identity. Implications of the study suggest that personnel responsible for the development and organizational support of a compliance program should understand the appraisal process by which employees build their relationship with the program. The originality of this study is that it points emphatically that companies must pay special attention in developing a corporate ethics identify which is coherent, well documented and well explained.

Is "football for all" safe for all? : Cross-Sectional Study of Disparities as Determinants of 1-Year Injury Prevalence in Youth Football Programs

Football (soccer) is endorsed as a health-promoting physical activity worldwide. When football programs are introduced as part of general health promotion programs, equal access and limitation of pre-participation disparities with regard to injury risk are important. The aim of this study was to explore if disparity with regard to parents' educational level, player body mass index (BMI), and self-reported health are determinants of football injury in community-based football programs, separately or in interaction with age or gender. Methodology/Principal Findings Four community football clubs with 1230 youth players agreed to participate in the cross-sectional study during the 2006 season. The study constructs (parents' educational level, player BMI, and self-reported health) were operationalized into questionnaire items. The 1-year prevalence of football injury was defined as the primary outcome measure. Data were collected via a postal survey and analyzed using a series of hierarchical statistical computations investigating associations with the primary outcome measure and interactions between the study variables. The survey was returned by 827 (67.2%) youth players. The 1-year injury prevalence increased with age. For youths with parents with higher formal education, boys reported more injuries and girls reported fewer injuries than expected; for youths with lower educated parents there was a tendency towards the opposite pattern. Youths reporting injuries had higher standardized BMI compared with youths not reporting injuries. Children not reporting full health were slightly overrepresented among those reporting injuries and underrepresented for those reporting no injury. Conclusion Pre-participation disparities in terms of parents' educational level, through interaction with gender, BMI, and self-reported general health are associated with increased injury risk in community-based youth football. When introduced as a general health promotion, football associations should adjust community-based youth programs to accommodate children and adolescents with increased pre-participation injury risk.

On precise three-dimensional environment modeling via UAV-based photogrammetric systems

Abstract : Images acquired from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can provide data with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution for three-dimensional (3D) modeling. Solutions developed for this purpose are mainly operating based on photogrammetry concepts, namely UAV-Photogrammetry Systems (UAV-PS). Such systems are used in applications where both geospatial and visual information of the environment is required. These applications include, but are not limited to, natural resource management such as precision agriculture, military and police-related services such as traffic-law enforcement, precision engineering such as infrastructure inspection, and health services such as epidemic emergency management. UAV-photogrammetry systems can be differentiated based on their spatial characteristics in terms of accuracy and resolution. That is some applications, such as precision engineering, require high-resolution and high-accuracy information of the environment (e.g. 3D modeling with less than one centimeter accuracy and resolution). In other applications, lower levels of accuracy might be sufficient, (e.g. wildlife management needing few decimeters of resolution). However, even in those applications, the specific characteristics of UAV-PSs should be well considered in the steps of both system development and application in order to yield satisfying results. In this regard, this thesis presents a comprehensive review of the applications of unmanned aerial imagery, where the objective was to determine the challenges that remote-sensing applications of UAV systems currently face. This review also allowed recognizing the specific characteristics and requirements of UAV-PSs, which are mostly ignored or not thoroughly assessed in recent studies. Accordingly, the focus of the first part of this thesis is on exploring the methodological and experimental aspects of implementing a UAV-PS. The developed system was extensively evaluated for precise modeling of an open-pit gravel mine and performing volumetric-change measurements. This application was selected for two main reasons. Firstly, this case study provided a challenging environment for 3D modeling, in terms of scale changes, terrain relief variations as well as structure and texture diversities. Secondly, open-pit-mine monitoring demands high levels of accuracy, which justifies our efforts to improve the developed UAV-PS to its maximum capacities. The hardware of the system consisted of an electric-powered helicopter, a high-resolution digital camera, and an inertial navigation system. The software of the system included the in-house programs specifically designed for camera calibration, platform calibration, system integration, onboard data acquisition, flight planning and ground control point (GCP) detection. The detailed features of the system are discussed in the thesis, and solutions are proposed in order to enhance the system and its photogrammetric outputs. The accuracy of the results was evaluated under various mapping conditions, including direct georeferencing and indirect georeferencing with different numbers, distributions and types of ground control points. Additionally, the effects of imaging configuration and network stability on modeling accuracy were assessed. The second part of this thesis concentrates on improving the techniques of sparse and dense reconstruction. The proposed solutions are alternatives to traditional aerial photogrammetry techniques, properly adapted to specific characteristics of unmanned, low-altitude imagery. Firstly, a method was developed for robust sparse matching and epipolar-geometry estimation. The main achievement of this method was its capacity to handle a very high percentage of outliers (errors among corresponding points) with remarkable computational efficiency (compared to the state-of-the-art techniques). Secondly, a block bundle adjustment (BBA) strategy was proposed based on the integration of intrinsic camera calibration parameters as pseudo-observations to Gauss-Helmert model. The principal advantage of this strategy was controlling the adverse effect of unstable imaging networks and noisy image observations on the accuracy of self-calibration. The sparse implementation of this strategy was also performed, which allowed its application to data sets containing a lot of tie points. Finally, the concepts of intrinsic curves were revisited for dense stereo matching. The proposed technique could achieve a high level of accuracy and efficiency by searching only through a small fraction of the whole disparity search space as well as internally handling occlusions and matching ambiguities. These photogrammetric solutions were extensively tested using synthetic data, close-range images and the images acquired from the gravel-pit mine. Achieving absolute 3D mapping accuracy of 11±7 mm illustrated the success of this system for high-precision modeling of the environment.

Type of strabismus and changes to fusion measures

Assessing the range of vergence provides information about the patient’s ability to maintain the binocular vision. Disparity vergence measurements should be used to quantify control of an underlying eye misalignment. In the presence of a manifest deviation the testing is performed by first compensating the angle of deviation to determine prognosis. Type of deviation: a) in an exophoria there is an increase in the fast fusional convergence while in an esophoric deviation there is an increase in reflex fusional divergence to attain binocular single vision; b) convergence fusion amplitudes have been found to correlate with control of the exodeviation; c) there is a greater BO range for esos and greater BI range for exos.

Contested dominance modifies the anovulatory consequences of social subordination in female marmosets

Dominance status among female marmosets is reflected in agonistic behavior and ovarian function. Socially dominant females receive submissive behavior from subordinates, while exhibiting normal ovulatory function. Subordinate females, however, receive agonistic behavior from dominants, while exhibiting reduced or absent ovulatory function. Such disparity in female fertility is not absolute, and groups with two breeding females have been described. The data reported here were obtained from 8 female-female pairs of captive female marmosets, each housed with a single unrelated male. Pairs were classified into two groups: “uncontested” dominance (UD) and “contested” dominance (CD), with 4 pairs each. Dominant females in UD pairs showed significantly higher frequencies (4.1) of agonism (piloerection, attack and chasing) than their subordinates (0.36), and agonistic behaviors were overall more frequently displayed by CD than by UD pairs. Subordinates in CD pairs exhibited more agonistic behavior (2.9) than subordinates in UD pairs (0.36), which displayed significantly more submissive (6.97) behaviors than their dominants (0.35). The data suggest that there is more than one kind of dominance relationship between female common marmosets. Assessment of progesterone levels showed that while subordinates in UD pairs appeared to be anovulatory, the degree of ovulatory disruption in subordinates of CD pairs was more varied and less complete. We suggest that such variation in female-female social dominance relationships and the associated variation in the degree and reliability of fertility suppression may explain variations of the reproductive condition of free-living groups of common marmosets

Comparative study of stereopsis with three different tests: TNO®, Stereo Acuity Test Fly® and StereoTAB® in students in higher school

Purpose: Stereopsis is the perception of depth based on retinal disparity. Global stereopsis depends on the process of random dot stimuli and local stereopsis depends on contour perception. The aim of this study was to correlate 3 stereopsis tests: TNO®, StereoTA B®, and Fly Stereo Acuity Test® and to study the sensitivity and correlation between them, using TNO® as the gold standard. Other variables as near convergence point, vergences, symptoms and optical correction were correlated with the 3 tests. Materials and Methods: Forty-nine students from Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa (ESTeSL), aged 18-26 years old were included. Results: The stereopsis mean (standard-deviation-SD) values in each test were: TNO® = 87.04” ±84.09”; FlyTest® = 38.18” ±34.59”; StereoTA B® = 124.89’’ ±137.38’’. About the coefficient of determination: TNO® and StereoTA B® with R2 = 0.6 e TNO® and FlyTest® with R2 =0.2. Pearson correlation coefficient shows a positive correlation between TNO® and StereoTA B® (r = 0.784 with α = 0.01). Phi coefficient shows a strong and positive association between TNO® and StereoTA B® (Φ = 0.848 with α = 0.01). In the ROC Curve, the StereoTA B® has an area under the curve bigger than the FlyTest® with a sensivity of 92.3% for 94.4% of specificity, so it means that the test is sensitive with a good discriminative power. Conclusion: We conclude that the use of Stereopsis tests to study global Stereopsis are an asset for clinical use. This type of test is more sensitive, revealing changes in Stereopsis when it is actually changed, unlike the test Stereopsis, which often indicates normal Stereopsis, camouflaging a Stereopsis change. We noted also that the StereoTA B ® is very sensitive and despite being a digital application, possessed good correlation with the TNO®.

Estudo comparativo da estereopsia com três testes diferentes: TNO®, Fly Stereo Acuity Test® e StereoTAB® em estudantes do ensino superior

Estereopsia define-se como a perceção de profundidade baseada na disparidade retiniana. A estereopsia global depende do processamento de estímulos de pontos aleatórios e a estereopsia local depende da perceção de contornos. O objetivo deste estudo é correlacionar três testes de estereopsia: TNO®, StereoTAB® e Fly Stereo Acuity Test® e verificar a sensibilidade e correlação entre eles, tendo o TNO® como gold standard. Incluíram-se 49 estudantes da Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa (ESTeSL) entre os 18 e 26 anos. As variáveis ponto próximo de convergência (ppc), vergências, sintomatologia e correção ótica foram correlacionadas com os três testes. Os valores médios (desvios-padrão) de estereopsia foram: TNO® = 87,04’’ ±84,09’’; FlyTest® = 38,18’’ ±34,59’’; StereoTAB® = 124,89’’ ±137,38’’. Coeficiente de determinação: TNO® e StereoTAB® com R2=0,6 e TNO® e FlyTest® com R2=0,2. O coeficiente de correlação de Pearson mostra uma correlação positiva de entre o TNO® e o StereoTAB® (r=0,784 com α=0,01). O coeficiente de associação de Phi mostrou uma relação positiva forte entre o TNO® e StereoTAB® (Φ=0,848 com α=0,01). Na curva ROC, o StereoTAB® possui uma área sob a curva maior que o FlyTest®, apresentando valor de sensibilidade de 92,3% para uma especificidade de 94,4%, tornando-o num teste sensível e com bom poder discriminativo.